Close to You
by Scruffy-Nerf-Hearder
Summary: Caroline and Matt have escaped the giant shark, and are now getting ready for their most exciting adventure yet... getting married. Part of my Jaws Universe, a one shot connected to Sweet Caroline.


_**Hey guys, this is the wedding chapter for Matt and Caroline, I hope you like it!**_

 _ **Please don't forget to review!**_

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Wedding planning while living with your future in-laws is no joke, wedding planning while keeping a secret from your future in-laws is even harder. While we'd told them about some of the things that had happened on the Orca Matt thought it best if his mom didn't know everything that had happened. She didn't need to know that I'd watched my dad die right in front of me, she didn't need to know that Matt had almost died in the anti-shark cage, and she really didn't need to know that I was- by my count- two months pregnant.

It had been two months since we had started staying with Mr. and Mrs. Hooper, Mr. Hooper was an executive of a brokerage firm in New York and oftentimes would go out of town for the week and stay in his apartment in Manhattan for the week while Mrs. Hooper, who insisted I called her Loraine, decided she needed to take over my wedding planning.

It had gone from an intimate setting in the back yard to a grand affair at the country club. Matt had come home one night to find me stressfully staring at a list of people that his mom had deemed absolutely necessary to have at the wedding. "What's all this?" He asked as he walked into the bedroom we were sharing and sat on the edge of the bed, looking at me.

"Your mother's must-haves for the wedding," I explained as I looked the pages over. "Matt, this is insane, she wants 500 people to come! I don't even know five hundred people this is- oh god this is too much," I shook my head and he moved to sit next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"Hey, don't worry," he smiled at me gently. "This is insane, I know," I chuckled softly and he smiled. "I know, but here's the thing, she's just pushing you around because you're letting her. You have to treat her the same way you'd treat a bull shark."

"You want me to harpoon your mom in the brain?" I looked at him suspiciously making him laugh.

"Okay, maybe not the way you'd handle a bull shark," he nodded as he ran his fingers through my hair. "But the way I would, with precision, and if that doesn't work, then harpoon her."

"So precision?" I asked as I leaned into his side. "How do you mean?"

"Like this," he said as he pulled away gently and gathered the papers and took my hand. We went downstairs to the study where his mom was working on the seating arrangement and he tossed the papers down in front of her. "This is insane, I don't know half of these people, and if I don't know them they're not coming to the wedding." He said sternly.

He'd always been the rebel of the family, his older brother and sister did everything their parents wanted, but Matt, as the youngest had no huge expectations put upon him. His older brother Sam had been expected to go into the family business, which he had just out of the Ivy League college he'd attended, and his older sister Kayla had become a doctor, and Matt had gone into working at the Institute and studying sharks. He didn't care that his parents were about as fond of his career choice as they were fond of he and I being friends our whole lives. And this wedding, while they claimed they were okay with it, his mother was having a hard time listening to anything I wanted at my wedding.

It was like the whole affair had turned into some sort of way for Loraine to throw a huge party for all of her friends and show off her perfect family, and if her youngest son happened to be getting married, well so be it.

"Matthew," Loraine smiled at him patiently. "It's a wedding, we would look rude if we didn't invite our friends and relatives-"

"Yeah, but these are your friends and relatives," he said as he gestured to the papers. "It's not my friends and it's not Caroline's friends. If you want to have a huge fancy party and show off for all of your friends, you and dad can have a second wedding, but Caroline and I don't want any of this." He shook his head as he looked around at all of the plans she'd been making. "And that's why I arranged something for this weekend."

"Wait, what?" I looked at him as he smiled proudly.

"You did what?" His mom stood up and stared at him in horror. "What- you-"

"Fifty people Maximum, and you only get to invite people after Caroline and I are done, and if we have any spots left." He told her before looking at me. "Let's go for a drive."

"Oh- okay?" I let out an astonished laugh as he led me out of the house and towards his car. We got in and he took off down the long driveway, only pausing to let the gate open, and then drove away from the estate. "Matt, what did you set up?" I asked with a small laugh.

"Well," he said as we drove down the road. "Do you remember that house we looked at last month? Close to the institute, close to the beach, has its own dock?"

"Sure." I nodded, I did remember it, it was the perfect house, but someone had put in a bid for it before we could.

"Two weeks ago it went back up on the market," he said. "And I put in our bid, I didn't want to tell you in case we didn't get it because I know how stressed you've been, but our offer was accepted two days later. I just wanted to wait until I finished the paperwork." He told me with a wide smile.

"I can't believe you," I let out a laugh. "Oh my god, okay, so we got the house. What does that have to do with this weekend?" It was Monday now, what could he have possibly planned for this weekend.

"Well," he said as we turned into the highway. We took it towards the house we'd fallen in love with and would be soon moving into. "We can start moving our things in this week, and I figured we'd be finished moving things in by the weekend, and I thought, what better way to start our lives than by getting married and moving in at the same time?" He shrugged. "So I booked a minister for this weekend. We can get married near the beach but not on it, at our new house in a small, but intimate ceremony with only people we want there."

As I thought about what he said, I started to realize more and more that this was exactly what I wanted, I wanted something small and intimate with only our close friends and family there, near the beach but not on it, and the first time he'd carry me over the threshold to our new house, we'd be married. "I love it," I told him and he looked at me with a smile.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Let's do it, let's get married this weekend," I smiled and he grinned, before taking my hand and kissing my knuckles. We held hands the rest of the way to the house that Matt and I now owned apparently, and when we got there I smiled seeing the wrap around porch I could see us raising our children on- oh. Oh god that reminded me, I still hadn't told Matt that I was expecting, and soon I wouldn't be able to hide it. We stopped the car and parked, Matt got out and walked around to my side to hold the door open for me before taking my hand and lacing our fingers together. The modest two story home with the wrap around porch was our home, it was where we were going to raise our kids, and the institute wasn't far, only a half hour drive.

Those thoughts were driven from my head however when Matt turned to me. "I realized the other day that I never really did this," he said as he drew a box from his pocket.

"What-" I laughed softly before looking at the box.

"It was my grandmother's." He told me as he knelt down and opened the box, presenting me with an engagement ring. It was beautiful, simple, a band with a small diamond that made me let out a breath. "Will you marry me, on Saturday?" He asked and I laughed.

"Yes, I will marry you this Saturday," I replied and he stood up with a beaming grin. He wrapped his arms around me and I hugged him back before looking up and kissing him. "I love you Matt," I told him and he smiles as he ran his fingers through my hair.

I had to hand it to Loraine, when she put her mind to something, she got it done. After finding out that Matt had stollen her opportunity to show off her family to her friends, Loraine decided it was more of a snub to the people she didn't like to be able to say 'Oh yes, my youngest got married, it was a small ceremony, only close friends,' and if that's what it took to make her happy, I was fine with it. She had somehow managed to get caterers, and decorators down to the new house while Matt and I had hired movers to bring our things to the new house, as well as having some new things bought for the new house. Just being there was chaos and while I'd decided to take a break from chaos I took it upon myself to stay in the Hooper's house and calling and inviting everyone on mine and Matt's very short list of people.

Come Saturday everything was perfect, Matt's sister had come in from Connecticut and his dad and brother had driven in from the city to be there, and Ellen had driven in on Wednesday to help me find a wedding dress. It was in the wedding dress, a white slip under a lace dress that clung to my bust but hung down loosely to my feet, that I was standing, looking in the mirror while Loraine and Kayla helped fix my veil when I had the sudden urge to throw up. I pushed the two away, and grabbing my skirt I ran to the bathroom, dropping to my knees I threw up as Loraine ran after me and held my hair and veil back.

"It's just nerves," she was saying as I finished throwing up and flushed the toilet. I wiped my mouth with a tissue and Kayla brought me a glass of water with an alka seltzer in it. I drank the water quickly and brushed my teeth before reapplying the light pink colored lipstick and then I picked up the bouquet of white roses and pink peonies and looked at Loraine. She looked me over and sighed before nodding. "You're ready," she said before going downstairs and telling people to get to their places. I followed after her and stood near the back door, I'd come out of the house, and walk down the steps and halfway across the yard where Matt was waiting for me under an arch covered in flowers. I was standing there, gripping my flowers when someone walked in, looking up, I expected it to be Loraine again, but instead found Matt standing there.

"What are you-" I gasped and he looked me over, biting his lip as he held my hands and then met my eye.

"You look beautiful," he said and I smiles softly.

"And you look so handsome," I sighed as I stepped closer. He wrapped his arms around my waist and sighed as he looked at me for a long moment.

"I know you're still torn up over what happened," he said and I nodded. "And I knew you'd be upset that Quint wasn't here to walk you down the aisle, and then I thought, maybe Martin would be a good replacement, but then I realized, I want to do it. I'm the one who gets to marry you, why shouldn't I walk you down the aisle?" He asked and I stared at him for a moment before nodding.

"I love that," I said and smiled. "I wouldn't want anyone but you to walk me down the aisle."

And that's what we did, he walked me down the aisle and we were married, in a close ceremony with his immediate family, and our friends, and Quint somewhere watching over us.

Loraine had gotten a band to come and by the time we'd all eaten and we're dancing I knew it was the perfect time to tell Matt the big news. As we swayed on the dance floor to the band singing "Close to You" by the Carpenters I looked at him and smiled gently. "It's a good thing we got this house, I love the amount of room we have here." I told him and he smiled gently.

"I know it's a little more room than we need right now," he said as he looked down at me. "But I figured, we could grow into it. In the meantime, we could have a spare bedroom, and maybe an office, or a library slash office?" He suggested. "What do you think?"

"I was thinking we could have a nursery." I told him with a small smile. "Because in about seven months we're going to be one more person."

"Are you sure?" He asked after a moment and I nodded. He stared down at me for a long moment before he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine longly. As he held me, kissing me on the dance floor I wrapped my arm around his neck, threading my fingers through his curly hair, just holding him as we kissed. When the kiss ended he pressed his forehead to mind and sighed. "I think we should name it after Quint," he said and I smiled softly before nodding.

"Okay," I agreed and he beamed at me before seeing Ellen and Martin.

"Come on, let's go tell them the news," he said as he took my hand.

That night when the party was over and Matt and I were laying in our bed in our new house I looked onto my side and looked at him. "Are you really excited about the baby?" I asked and he looked over at me with a small chuckle.

"Caroline, I've just been laying here trying to imagine anything in the world that could possibly make me happier," he said with a sigh. "You and I are married, we have our own house, and soon we're going to have a family. Tomorrow I'm going to go to the hardware store and buy some paint, we should get started on a nursery," he said and I smiled before nodding.

"That sounds perfect," I said and he smiled as he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me closer gently so I would lay my head on his chest.

He kissed the top of my head and I smiled, it had been an insane couple of months, but everything just seemed to fit together perfectly, and as I lay there with my husband, I knew that as long as we were together, things would always work out for us. And soon, we would have a baby to love and raise and teach everything we knew about. And I couldn't wait to start this next adventure with the man I was now blissfully married to.


End file.
